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2011 AZ Coues

Well I'm new to the forum and just want to say hello first of all I really enjoy reading Eastmans Hunting Journal and LOVE the Bowhunting Journal.

This hunt really started at the end of November really and every weekend I had available before the general archery season started in AZ on Jan 1. Me and my brother set up cameras and glassed for hours an hours looking for some worthy bucks in our hunting holes. The very first camera we checked we had pictures of 9 different bucks but only one of them was worth hunting but it was early in Dec and we still had a lot of time to scout and find other bucks and hope a few more showed in this particular area.

My brother had been seeing a different buck in another area for the past couple years but not till after he had already killed out and there was nothing that he could do about it and so this year he was going to give this buck a legitamate shot.

Well Jan 1st was finally here and wouldnt you know it on new years eve there was an enormous snow storm and there was not any deer showing up at my stand but on Christmas day the monster my brother was hunting finally showed his face and he was bigger than ever. So for 7 straight days my brother sat in his stand in below freezing temperatures and never laid eyes on the monster coues. On that 7th day he was so frozen we walked out to warm up in his truck. He drove to a different area and glassed up a monster muley and thru an awesome stalk on him and arrowed him at 45 yards. As luck would have it his buck began to show up again.

So I found myself jumping ship and sitting in my brothers stand. We set up 2 stands in his tree so he could film an we werent in the tree 3 hours and we were swamped by coues deer. A nice 3 point was 18 yards in front of me when Lee says " DONT SHOOT DO NOT SHOOT... the monster is to your left." He pushed a doe to 30 yards and I drew my bow and he stopped behind a little bit of brush that I thought I could get an arrow thru. WRONG!!! But he wasnt spooked he bolted down hill an gathered up another doe an pushed her to 50 yards. At this point I was so shook up from buck fever I shouldnt have even taken the 2nd shot but I did and it skipped thru his massive rack. All I heard was my brother say " I wonder what you were looking at.'' I handed him my bow and said "take this before I throw it out of the @#$&ing tree!!!!" Later that month after I was able to laugh about the situation we nicknamed that buck Goldtips after my 5575 goldtip skipped thru his rack. We never have seen Goldtips again but you better beleive he is on our 2012 hit list.

Well I had to go back to work the following day for a week but I was back at it that weekend and since we hadnt seen any action at the other stand since all hell broke loss over there the week before we decided to check my original stand and all the 9 bucks had showed back up including 2 bigger bucks that hadnt been there before the rut had kicked in. Jan. 23rd I climbed into the stand at about 8 o clock a small three point came in followed by a single doe. As I was sitting there watching them I didnt know if it was my imagination but I thought I heard a buck grunt... But then I heard it again and he was coming in fast! I slowly stood up as he was trotting in grunting one right after another.... He started dogging that doe and pushed her right under my stand and I drew back and grunted. He stopped at only 8 yards for my stand and I smoked him!!!! He wasnt the biggest buck I hunted by any means but I couldnt be happier with him. He ended up scoring right around 87''. Thanks to my brother who hunted his butt off with me even after he had already killed. He has taught me a ton and is the best hunter I know. I included a trailcam pic of Goldtip and a pic of my brothers muley... sorry the pics arent in order but you get the point